Fatherhood
by mythicalmermaid
Summary: Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter were overjoyed when they are finally able to adopt Fiona, a quiet kid with a difficult past. As the two deal with the difficulties of raising a child, will they be able to keep their relationship intact, and will the there of them be able to become a family? (Possible triggers for child abuse)
1. Chapter 1

"Hurry up, Harry!" Draco yelled, "We can't be late!" He paced at the bottom of the stairs, his arms crossed.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Harry called to him as he hurried down the stairs. His tie hung loosely around his neck, his glasses were sliding off, and his hair was... well, a mess, to put it kindly.

Draco grabbed him just before he was able to escape out the door, forcing his momentum to a stop. He carefully began to fix Harry's tie, taking his time.

"Now who needs to hurry up?" The raven haired boy remarked, yet kept still.

Draco glowered at him, "Do I need to remind you how important this is? If you mess this up, I swear..." He ran his hands through Harry's hair, trying to tame it.

"I know, Draco." Harry whispered, "I want this just as much as you do. I'm not going to do anything to screw this up." He met his eyes, which urged Draco to see how much he cared about this. This was the most important day of his life, there was no way that he was going to do anything that even had a slight chance of ruining it.

"You better not." The blonde retorted. He pulled his hands away from Harry's hair, which looked slightly tidier.

The two faced each other, staring into each other's eyes. Draco was the first to break. Smiling, he said, "We're going to be parents."

"We're going to be parents." Harry echoed. Thoughts were whirling around his mind at one hundred miles per minute. He was going to be a father. He was going to hold the responsibility of raising a child. He felt as if he had an unliftable weight on his shoulders. There was no way in hell that he was going to be able to do this. What if she didn't love him, or even like him? What if he messed everything up and ended up hurting her? A life was now in his hands. If he did something, anything, wrong, he would screw up the child for life. He couldn't do this, he couldn't deal with all of the pressure, the pressure of raising a child.

He turned away and rested his arms on the wall. "How are we going to do this, Draco?" He turned his head to look at his partner, "How am _I_ going to do this?"

Draco gently rested his hand on Harry's shoulder, "Together. That's how we're going to do this. We're going to make great dads, you'll see."

Harry flung around, which caused Draco to jump back in surprise. "How?" He exclaimed, "You're the son of parents that, to be honest, were pretty crappy, and I'm an orphan that grew up with an abusive aunt and uncle! Neither one of us knows what good parents are! How can we possibly ever be good parents?"

Draco grabbed a hold of him, "Hey! Snap out of it!" He shook him gently, "We've had this discussion a million times before! We are going to make amazing parents." Draco lifted Harry's head so that his eyes met his, "All of that hurt and pain that you experienced is going to make you a great parent. You know what it's like to feel unloved, and I know that you would do anything to ensure that our child doesn't feel the same way. You're going make mistakes, we both are, but in the end, I know that you will love her with all of your heart."

Draco rested his hand over Harry's heart, "You have the biggest heart of anyone I know, Harry, and I have no doubt that you will be an amazing father. You'll be the best father in the whole world, because of this thing right here. You may have been through so much pain, but you also know so much love. Love that you will pass onto our little girl, and any other children that we might have in the future."

Harry smiled, "You're right." He said. He wrapped his arms around Draco and pulled him close. He rested his head against his partner's neck. "Except for one thing. I'm not going to be the best father in the world, you are. "

"That's true," Draco said, making Harry laugh. "Though I'll settle for a tie."

"Deal," Harry said, "We can both be the best dads in the world. I get to make the dad jokes, though."

"As long as I get to threaten any boy she brings home," Draco responded, pulling away. "Now do you feel better?"

"Yes," Harry nodded. He ran his hand through his hair, messing up any sense of tidiness that Draco had managed to give him. I'm still as scared as hell, though."

"That makes two of us." Draco murmured.

Harry slipped his hand into his, "Are you ready?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm ready. Are you?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Harry responded. And with that, they apparated away.

Both men, as terrified and as excited as the other, for, when they would return, their daughter would be with them.


	2. Chapter 2

The young girl seemed to be a shy one. Of course, Draco and Harry were aware of this fact. When they had met her before she had acted the same way, nervous and uneasy. They were aware of her past and they understood that it would potentially take a long time until she would warm up to them.

"Come on, Fiona," Harry said gently. He held her small, little hand and pulled her into the house after him. "This is your new home. Do you want to see your room?" She didn't answer verbally, but she nodded

"It's this way, we just have to go up the stairs-" Draco gave her a wide smile and headed up the staircase. He waited at the top of the stairs for both Harry and Fiona, who took their time climbing up the stairs. Draco pushed opened the first door on the right. "And it's right one is yours."

Fiona peered into the room and slowly entered. Her eyes went straight to the bed. It had a sky blue bedspread that matched the walls. The couple entered the room, smiling as she grabbed the stuffed animal that was propped up against the lacey white pillow. Draco had picked out the bear a week ago, musing that it was much like the one that he had when he was a child.

A small, yet happy smile spread on the young girls face. She hugged the bear to her chest and climbed up onto the bed.

"Sorry you don't have that many things yet." Draco said, "We weren't quite sure what all you would like. We can go shopping for you tomorrow if you want." The two of them had bought a couple of outfits, and some books and toys that they thought kids her age would like. It was nothing close to what she would need, but it was a start. They wanted her to be able to pick out most of what she would own, that way the house would start to feel like a home to her.

"Yes, please." She said, not looking at the man. Her voice was quiet and had an anxious tone to it that made Harry's heart drop. She was so nervous. She wasn't used to being able to trust anyone.

"Alright, well, if you need anything, let us know. This is your home now, Fiona. You can come to us with anything." Harry said, backing out of the room. He closed the door after both Draco and himself until it was only open a crack. He headed down the stairs and into the kitchen, Draco following after him.

"We have a daughter," Harry said, looking down at his feet.

Draco gave him a soft smile, "We have a daughter." He repeated.

"How long until you think she'll be comfortable around us?"

"I don't know, after everything she's been through...awhile."

"That's okay." Harry nodded, looking back at his partner. "I'm just glad she's safe, that's she not with... _them_ anymore. She has a good home now, and a family that will love her."

Draco nodded, "That's what matters most. She'll have so many people that will love her. Just wait until Molly meets her."

Harry chuckled, "She won't know what hit her. Molly'll spoil her so much... I think Molly's actually mad at me for not letting me meet her right away."

"No, Molly understands. She knows that Fiona needs time to adjust to both the house and us. Maybe she can meet our family in a few weeks, or at least a few of them. I don't want to overwhelm her any more. She seems so overwhelmed already."

"I know." Harry sighed, "I don't know how to help her." He ran his hand through his hair. "She's just so nervous."

Draco wrapped his arm around his partner, "It's hard, I know. We both knew this wasn't going to be easy going into this. We did this because we wanted her to have people in her life who love her unconditionally. We wanted to give her something that we didn't feel like we had when we were her age. She's been through a lot, Harry. We just have to be there for her and be patient with her. She isn't going to trust us overnight."

Harry leaned his head on Draco's shoulder, "You're right. We might not be perfect, but we'll do the best we can for her. We'll be the best fathers we can be."

"Exactly." Draco squeezed his arm. "That's what we can do for her."

"Do you think she's hungry?" Harry asked, pulling away from him, "It _is_ almost noon."

"She probably is." Draco agreed. He rolled up his sleeves to check his watch. It was eleven fifty-three. "Why don't you go ask her what she wants?"

Draco watched as his partner headed up the stairs to do just so. He wondered how many times the young girl was deprived of food, just like Harry. He loosened his tie. They both had him now, and he wouldn't let anyone hurt either of them ever again.


	3. Chapter 3

After Fiona had inhaled the grilled cheese that Draco had made for her, by her request, she guzzled down an entire glass of water in one try. He had also laid a chocolate cupcake in front of her. It was his mother's own secret recipe, and far better than anyone else's recipe, even Molly's, though Harry would argue differently.

Fiona hesitated but picked up the cupcake. Draco watched as her eyes widened when she took a bite. He smiled, that was typically the effect that his mother's cupcakes had on people. He wasn't sure how she had crafted the recipe, but he swore that they were the best in the entire world. Many had tried, but none could replicate the recipe. It seemed that only Malfoys had the special touch that was required.

He thought back to the time that Molly had attempted to make them. Draco had warned her that nobody else seemed to be able to recreate them, but Molly didn't listen. Instead, she insisted that any competent cook could follow any recipe. To her surprise, Draco's words rang true. As the cupcakes baked, the Burrow was filled with a dreadful stench that made everyone queasy. Not one person was brave enough to try one, fearing what a taste of the cupcakes could do if the smell was enough to make them sick. Even after they had disposed of the cupcakes, the smell had lasted several days. After that incident, Molly had learned to heed Draco's warnings more carefully. Draco, of course, used this to his advantage, never missing a chance to tease the older woman.

He turned back to the counter, where several other cupcakes stood on a plate. He snatched another one and put it in front of her, even though she hadn't even finished her first one. She deserved being a little spoiled.

Fiona shook her head at the idea of a second cupcake. "How many are left?" She asked in her small voice.

"Plenty." Draco said, "Don't worry about it. You can have as many as you like."

Fiona smiled faintly, "Thank you," she murmured.

"You don't have to thank me." The man said. "I'm supposed to take care of you now, and a big part of that is making sure that you are happy and you have no needs that are going unfilled." He glanced down at her plate, which had previously held a grilled cheese, "Would you like another grilled cheese?" He asked. She had eaten it so quickly. There was no doubt about it that she was hungry. How many days had she gone hungry? How many times did she not have enough to eat? He swallowed back his hatred for her parents.

Fiona nodded and looked down at her plate, returning once again to her quiet nature. Draco let out a deep breath. At least it was something, he supposed. She could talk to him now, that was good. He turned back to the stovetop, putting the pan back onto the burner. He grabbed his wand, which was beside him on the counter.

When he turned around, he saw Fiona frozen in fear, her eyes wide. Draco looked down at his wand. How could he be so stupid as to forget even for a second? He put it back down and raised his arms. "I won't use my wand if you don't want me to, okay Fiona?" He set the wand back down on the counter. "Magic can be a useful tool, I was going to use it to make some more food. I don't have to if you don't want me to, though. Fiona, if you don't want us to use any magic, you can just tell us that, okay?"

She shook her head, "No." She met his eyes, "It's okay. I guess all magic isn't bad." She tore her eyes from his and went back down to not meeting his eyes.

Draco nodded and turned back to the pan. He picked up his wand, looking back at Fiona. They would have to be careful how often they used magic around her until she grew comfortable with it. He hoped that one day she would even be able to use magic herself and attend Hogwarts. It wouldn't happen instantaneously, but over time, maybe she would grow to want to use magic herself. She had five years to decide, he supposed. Maybe after those five years, she would decide to go to Hogwarts, or maybe some other wizarding school if she wanted.

He turned to face the stove. With a deep breath, he started doing magic, hoping to show her what could happen when it was used for good.

Harry glanced up as Draco walked into their bedroom. He lifted up a stack of letters. "Well, looks like the family's heard," he said, grinning.

Draco laughed and walked over to the man, "Yeah, I sent a couple of letters out to the family that we were finally able to have her come home. I guess everyone's eager to meet her, hopefully, they'll be able to soon. Who are all the letters from?"

Harry sifted through the letters, "Molly, your mom, Ron and Hermione, I can't tell whose handwriting this one's is, Percy and Audrey, wait-" He pulled out a letter. "I think this one is Hagrid." He held up the letter.

Draco took the letter from Harry's hands, noticing the messy handwriting and the fact that the street name was misspelled. "It looks like it. I don't know he heard. I should have sent him a letter, but I didn't think of it at the time. I don't know how I missed him... Do you think McGonagall told him? It would make sense. I mean, she would've known that the adoption went through. After all, she's the one that told us about Fiona. And, I mean, they work together, it could've come up."

"Yeah, that would make sense." Harry agreed, "Do you want to open it up? I'd like to see what he has to say." He set the other letters down on the nightstand. He sat down on the bed and pat the area next to him.

Draco moved towards Harry and sat next to him. He opened up the letter and begun to read it out loud, interpreting it as he read it as best as he could. "Dear Harry and Draco, I heard the news. It's hard to b...be...believe? I think that's supposed to be believe. Anyway, it's hard to believe that it was nearly fifteen years ago that I met you, Harry. I so proud of you, Harry, and of everything that you've done. God dammit, this man is going to make me cry..." Draco mutter, wiping tears from his eyes. He continued reading the letter, "I would love to meet Fiona sometime if you'd like that too. I'm sure she'll turn out just as fine as you. Love, Hagrid."

Harry smiled, taking the letter out of Draco's hands. Tears of joy were welling up in his eyes. This man was one of the most important people in his life. This man was the one he could take comfort in when he couldn't in anyone else. Nobody else had been there for him like Hagrid had. He had been the only person he could always count on. He was one of the most amazing men he knew. The heart that he had was overwhelming. Harry didn't think that he would ever meet anyone who loved like Hagrid did.

He leaned his head on Draco's shoulder, who in turn wrapped his arm around him. "How did we become this lucky, Draco? What did we do to deserve people like this in our lives?"

Draco closed his eyes and leaned in closer to his partner. "I don't know. I wish I had an answer, but what does anyone do to deserve the people in their lives? They're there, whether or not we deserve them. I'm just going to be goddamned thankful that they are." He picked up the letters that Harry had laid on the nightstand. "Look at all these people that loved us enough to write letters to us, look at all the people who cared enough about our lives. We didn't ask for these people to care, but they did."

"We're so lucky," Harry whispered.

"We are." Draco agreed. He looked at the letter in Harry's hand. He felt so thankful for the man. Hagrid was such an important part of Harry's life, and he felt incredibly grateful that the man wrote his partner such a caring letter. He looked down at the letters in his hands. Fiona would have so many people in her life that would care about her. She would have so many people in her life to love her. Draco couldn't wait for Fiona to meet all of these people that had become such an important part of their lives. He couldn't wait for her to meet her family.


	4. Chapter 4

"What time are kids supposed to go to bed?" Harry whispered to Draco. He glanced at his watch, which read "6:45." It was a long time since he was a kid, and he doubted that his childhood was anything like a normal one, including what time he went to bed.

"It depends on the age." Draco responded, "From what I've read, for a three to six-year-old, anywhere between six and eight is a proper bedtime. She seems to be getting a little tired, though." He noted as Fiona yawned. "Today must have been a big day for her. In fact, I'm even starting to get tired myself. I might have to go to bed soon."

Harry chuckled. "Don't fall asleep on me here, we still haven't answered most of the letters." He said, referring to the ones that were still in their room.

"Well let them go unanswered, I'm sure that my mom won't apparate in here demanding why we haven't answered her within one day."

"No, but Percy might."

"No he wouldn't, you're being ridiculous." Draco snorted.

"I know he wouldn't, I'm just joking around. Really, the two of us should get some sleep, especially if we want to get going tomorrow. We don't have that many days until I have to be back at work." Harry reminded him. The Department had been kind enough to give him time off in order to get to know his daughter a little bit more. He looked over at Fiona, who was intently watching their owl.

The girl had spent most of her day looking around the house, trying to figure out what to make of it. The house was nice, she thought. It was much different than her own one, but she considered that to be a good thing. It was a lot smaller, which meant there were a lot fewer places to hide, but she wasn't sure if she would need those anymore. Even if she did need to hide sometimes, she was sure that she would find a good place. The best places were the hardest to find, so it was almost good that she didn't find any decent places yet.

Fiona liked her room, too. She liked the light blue color that her walls were painted. Her room at her old house was painted "off-white," as her mother put it. It made no difference to her, it was white, and it was boring. Her room there wasn't really her own, though. She wasn't really allowed to decorate it or move things around. Her mother like things a certain way, she always used to say, and she didn't want Fiona messing anything up. Her favorite part of the new room, though, was the stuffed bear that was on the bed. She used to have stuffed animals at her old house too until her father took them away when she was five. Suddenly, they were "too childish" for her. That's when her parents started to have more "expectations" was the word they said.

Fiona reached out her hand to touch the owl that was perched up on the windowsill. One of the men, the one with the glasses and funny smile, had told her that she was a barn owl. Harry, he said his name was, had told her that the owl's name was Klara. Klara seemed to be a friendly owl, and Fiona liked that she let her pet her. She smiled as the owl hooted and hopped around.

She turned around to see the two men were watching her. They seemed like nice people. The blonde man, Draco, treated her in a way that she wasn't used to, like how she felt matter. And Harry, he had spoken to her kindly. She didn't know that adults could even be this nice. It almost made her nervous, what would happen when she made them mad when she didn't meet their "expectations?" She fidgeted with her fingers nervously. Surely there had to be something wrong with them, didn't there? Even if Draco had let her have two cupcakes, there had to be something mean about him, didn't there?

She felt another wave of sleepiness rush over her. She held her hand up to her mouth and yawned. After all of the excitement of today, she was starting to feel tired.

"Are you ready to go to bed?" Harry asked her, "You look a little tired." He walked over to the girl and knelt down beside her.

Fiona nodded as she held back yet another yawn. She stood up and gave Klara one last goodnight pat.

"Come on, then, why don't we go get ready for bed?" He held out his hand.

Fiona took his hand, and let him lead her up the stairs and into her room.

Harry opened one of the drawers to her dresser, "We have a couple of pajamas in here, you can choose which ones you like." He said. He walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Fiona scanned the drawer. There were three different sets of pajamas. She picked out a sky blue set that had puppies on them. It had a short sleeve top and long pants. Once she had changed, she opened the door of her room, where Harry was waiting.

The man smiled, "Those were my favorite, too." He then watched as she brushed her teeth and two returned to her room.

Harry kneeled next to the bed as Fiona climbed into it. "Do you want a bedtime story, or do you just want to go to bed?" He asked her.

The girl nodded, a story could be a nice thing to hear. Maybe it would even make it easier for her to fall asleep.

"Okay, well." Harry cleared his throat, "Once Upon A Time there was a little mouse named Millie..."

As Harry began to spin his story, Fiona grew more and more tired. Eventually, she closed her eyes. She drifted off to sleep to the sound of the young man's voice.

"...and Millie the mouse returned home once again. The End." Harry whispered as his story came to an end. He smiled down at the little girl, who had fallen asleep towards the end of it. Careful to not wake her, he stood and turned off the light. Pausing at the door, he looked back at Fiona. He could get used to this, the life of being a father. He shut the door behind him, smiling the whole time as he got ready for bed.


	5. Chapter 5

Draco flipped the last of the scrambled eggs onto his own plate. "Alright, is that it? Do either of you two want anything else?" He turned to look at Harry and Fiona as they sat at the dining table, chowing on the pancakes and eggs that Draco had prepared.

Harry shrugged, "I wouldn't say no to some filet mignon. Oh, creme brulee would be excellent as well."

Draco rolled his eyes and threw a dishtowel at him, ignoring his request. Harry ducked his head in order to avoid it, and it went sailing over his head. He shot Fiona a grin, who smiled in turn.

"What about you, Fiona. Anything else you want?" Draco asked the girl, in a much gentler and less exasperated voice than he used to deal with Harry.

She shook her head, "No thank you."

Draco flicked off the burner and carried his plate over to the table. He sat down next to his partner who was reading The Daily Prophet. The two of them had made a habit of pocking fun at the newspaper and used it as a sense of comedy to start the morning.

Harry frowned when he read the headlines. He got out of his seat and swiftly tossed the paper into the trashcan.

Draco raised his eyebrows, "Everything alright?" He asked. He could tell that Harry was struggling to control his anger.

Harry nodded and glanced at Fiona, who wasn't paying attention to the man. "Yeah, I just have a few choice words I'd like to say to Rita Skeeter."

Draco narrowed his eyes, that woman drove him up the wall, the way that she always stuck her nose into everyone's business. Even though he and Harry let most of the things she said roll off their backs, there were certain things that were off limits and by the look that Harry gave him, he figured that this one had to do with Fiona.

It amazed him that after all these years, that woman was still sticking her nose into their business and writing stories on the two of them. He'd think that the woman would have an ounce of sympathy for them, as the woman had come out as Pansexual a few years before. However, this fact seemed to only further interest her in the couple. Anyway, she could twist around their words or just outright lie, she would. The Chosen One and the Death Eater, there was no bigger scandal in her mind. At least once a month they'd see their names in her headlines.

He used to get so angry about it, but eventually, he learned to stop caring as much. He gave up hope that she would stop writing about the two of them. Instead, they turned to it as a source of laughter. They tried not to let her words get to them anymore, but this was different. It wasn't about them, it was about a child who had gone through too much already at her young age. It was about his _daughter_.

He clenched his jaw and shook his head. He didn't say anything, knowing that the moment he opened his mouth words would fly out that wasn't for young ears like Fiona's to hear. He pushed The Daily Prophet to the back of his mind. He'd have to deal with that later.

"Fiona what all do you want to look for today?" He said, drawing his attention back to the girl.

"Clothes Books? Toys? What do you want?" Harry asked when Draco didn't receive an answer.

"Yes." Fiona said, "That sounds nice."

"Okay, good. If you're done eating, do you want to go upstairs and get ready? We can leave whenever you want."

She nodded and pushed herself out of her chair. She went to pick up her plate, but Draco stopped her. "Don't worry about it, I'll take care of it. You can go get ready." He said, picking up the plate and putting it in the sink.

When they could no longer hear Fiona's footsteps going upstairs, Draco pulled the newspaper out of the garbage bin.

"No don't look at that," Harry said, leaping out of the seat. He pulled it away from Draco, "Really, I wouldn't recommend reading it. It'll only make you cross."

"I'll read the damned paper if I want to." Draco snatched it from his hands, "I'll find out about it anyway."

"Language." Harry reminded him, "Better get into the rhythum of saying 'darn,' 'fudge,' and 'golly.'"

He rolled his eyes and opened up the paper. The headline read "The Chosen One and Draco Malfoy Take in Broken Child." Draco gripped the paper so hard that his knuckles began to turn white. He didn't want to read on any further, it was enough that they had called her "broken." Broken, as if she was some inanimate object and not a living, breathing human.

"That's only the beginning." Harry whispered, "That's the good part." He gently reached over and took the paper out of Draco's hands once again, who let him this time.

"Why does she get off on writing about people's personal lives? This girl has gone through so much, and now everyone knows. Everyone's going to treat her just as the headling does as if she's broken. It'll be years before everyone forgets about this. Maybe people will still remember in five years when she'll be at school. This isn't the time of thing you can write a story about, this affects her life, a six-year-old kid." Draco said, his eyes welling up with tears. He wasn't sure if he was crying because he was angry or because of what Fiona had been through.

Harry wrapped his arms around the man and pulled him close to him. "She'll be okay." He whispered, "We'll make sure of it. I'm sure most other people will have more sympathy that Rita Skeeter does. Plus, you forget that we already have a mini army of people who will gladly hex anyone who hurts her."

Draco let out a small chuckle, "I'd hate to get in their way. Some of them are outright terrifying." He sniffled and buried his face into Harry's shoulder.

"That they are." Harry kissed the top of his head. "As much as I hate to remind you of this, we're going shopping today, okay? I'll clean up the dishes, why don't you go finish getting ready. I'm guessing you're not done doing your hair because you have a wicked case of bedhead. It's even worse than mine."

"That's not possible," Draco said, pulling away from him. He quickly kissed him and hurried upstairs, leaving Harry to clean take care of the dishes.

Harry watched the man leave, sighing to himself. He gripped the newspaper in his hand and tore it to pieces and shoving them into the garbage bin. He rubbed his hand on his forehead, urging himself to forget about what the newspaper had said. He was angry, but for a different reason than Draco. Yes, he was angry that the woman had the audacity to write about a child's personal life, but her parents... He wasn't sure how much of what Rita Skeeter had written was true, but the very idea of the abuse angered him.

McGonagall hadn't told them much about Fiona's childhood. Of course, she had told him that the girl had been abused by her parents and that the reason they caught them was a squib had seen her mother hexing her through the window. However, she had never said anything other than that. Maybe the woman hadn't even known herself to what extent the abuse went to. How would Rita Skeeter had known then? What sources would have told her this?

He looked up as he heard Fiona come downstairs. He would make sure that today would be a good day, for her. He beamed a her as he washed the dishes. "Are you ready to go shopping?"


End file.
